About 600 industrial units in the region remained closed for last 35 days due to indefinite gas load shedding by the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL). Resultantly, textile industry output and exports are running in loss of billions of rupees, 0.4 million industrial workers are facing severe problems for their livelihood. Besides, residents of various localities are also facing so many problems due to low gas pressure to run their routine life.
Commenting over the prevailing situation, Aftaf Ahmad, Chairman of Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association, Arif Tauseef, Chairman of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association, Muzzamal Sultan, President of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated that the unprecedented gas suspension in December caused 19.2 percent decline in textile exports and pushed forex earning sector to the brink of disaster rendering millions of workers jobless.
Arif PTEA expressed deep concerns over alarming decline in textile exports due to energy shortage and said that all major sectors of textile industry, including cotton yarn, cotton cloth, knitwear, bed wear, garments and towel registered a steep fall both in quantity and value terms during December 2011. "Decline is worsening with every passing month since the start of new fiscal year, which means there is less production for exports in the country due to obvious reasons," he said, adding that manufacturing sector has suffered serious setback due to energy crisis and if gas and electricity disruption continued, the monthly textile exports declining ratio could reach 400 million dollars in coming months causing heavy damage to the textile sector.
Citing official figures, he said that textile exports of bed wear declined by 32.75 percent in December 2011 against corresponding period, followed by 26 percent drop in cotton cloth, 38 percent in knitwear, 6.75 percent in garments and 23 percent in cotton yarn in quantity terms. Overall growth in textiles in the past six months posted a negative growth of 4.68 percent, as it touched $5.96 billion in July-December this year from $6.25 billion over the corresponding period of last year.
Arif said that severe shortage of gas has almost devastated the manufacturing and industrial sectors rendering export units dysfunctional and this situation is resulting in the loss of production and cancellation of export orders. Emphasising the importance of conducive industrial promotion and productivity augmentation conditions in the country, PTEA chairman said that to keep the industrial wheel running and providing maximum job employment to working hands in the country, it was imperative to facilitate the optimum industrial activity. He claimed that the textile exports could touch the figure of $20 billion by the end of June 2012. But he conditioned it with energy supply and reduction in interest rates.
He called upon the government to take all possible steps to remove all hurdles as without resolving these problems the export targets look harder to be achieved in the prevailing conditions. The PTEA chairman warned that with the collapse of industrial sector and drastic decline in exports, precious forex and national revenues would be worst hit, shattering the national economy.
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